We should be grateful for the benefits of modern life

Younger people are often complaining about how difficult it is to do the communication parts of their jobs. They’re too young to know how it used to be.

When I graduated from college, I got a very good engineering job at Raytheon. We had a nice secretary who typed our reports, memos and everything else. The typed versions often revealed incongruities not apparent in the written versions, and retyping was often required. Once approved, it was deposited in the interoffice mail, unless it was urgent. Then, it would have to be hand delivered.

A few years later, I went to Digital Equipment. We had a secretary, but we also had word processing. In other words, we could type our own stuff. I only have one finger trained, but I’m pretty quick as long as it’s coming out of my head. If I have to copy something, I’m a lot slower. Once done, it went into the mail unless it was urgent.

And then came email. Wow! It was immediately delivered to the recipient(s) as soon as we hit the send button. How could life get any better?

It wasn’t long before people were complaining about having to wait for an email response before leaving. So, we took computer terminals home in the early ‘80s. Now, we could often work from home as effectively as in the office.

Then came laptops. Life was getting better all the time, but it wasn’t always seen that way. People began complaining about finding themselves working nights and weekends. The benefit of not having to drive to the office or the plant to accomplish these things was quickly forgotten.

At this point, I was traveling all over the world, so being able to work anywhere was a tremendous benefit. Business travel is often considered a perk, but it gets old quickly. I was often in business class or first class back in the days when the airlines were trying to treat us like human beings. I can tell you the best way to see the world is to let someone else pay for it.

Even so, it was nice to stay home once in a while, and videoconferencing became available in the early ‘90s. It was buggy at first and not as good as being there in person, but it saved us from a lot of what would have been necessary trips. As the years went on, it got better and better as well as cheaper and cheaper. A few years ago, when COVID showed up, videoconferencing enabled us to communicate well without the risk of catching the dreaded virus or anything else.

And, of course, where would we be without cellphones? I got one in my car when they first came out. The hands-free capability enabled me to return calls while sitting in traffic. I’ve had a number of cellphones, each a tremendous improvement over its predecessor. For years, they’ve been smartphones, which enable me to have a full computer in my pocket. I can even use it as a GPS to help me get where I’m going.

All these tools have essentially made working from anywhere very possible in a lot of jobs. And yes, some companies and bosses are unreasonable in expecting 24/7 responsiveness. That’s slavery. If your company and/or boss hasn’t learned that employees never treat their companies any better than they’re treated by them, it’s time to look for another job. You’ll do much better working for people who want to develop you and help you do as much as you can, instead of those who make you want to do as little as you can get away with.

If, on the other hand, the boss isn’t the problem and you’re working 24/7, you need discipline and to learn how to organize your work so it doesn’t enslave you.

These wonderful technological advancements used correctly can make our lives and our work so much better and easier than it used to be.

The days are getting shorter, which means the glorious holiday of Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. We all have so much for which to be thankful. Please remember to add the tools that enable us to be even more effective and successful to your list of goodies. They can’t really benefit us unless we appreciate them and use them properly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ronald J. Bourque, a consultant and speaker from Salem, has had engagements throughout the U.S. Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 898-1871 or RonBourque3@gmail.com